† Combined mode:Local students taking programmes in combined mode can attend full-time (12-18 credit units per semester) or part-time (no more than 11 credit units per semester) study in different semesters without seeking approval from the University. For non-local students, they will be admitted to these programmes for either full-time or part-time studies. Non-local students must maintain the required credit load for their full-time or part-time studies and any changes will require approval from the University.

Programme Outlines

Programme Aims and Objectives

The Master of Science in Chemistry programme aims to train and produce graduates with highly marketable research skills and experiences in a wide variety of advanced chemistry disciplines, such as catalysis; synthetic chemistry; materials & biomaterials chemistry; analytical & bio-analytical science; computational chemistry; environmental chemistry and chemical biology, to meet local, regional and global demands for R&D specialists in the industrial, commercial, and government sectors. Graduates are also eligible for pursuing higher research degrees in local and overseas universities and research institutes.

The course learning outcomes of "Academic and Industrial Research, Development and Innovation" focus on research project design and management, which cover various topics including ethics in scientific research; research and uncertainty; hypothesis development; experiments design; data analysis; evaluation of research work; project management and communication skills.

The courses "Advanced Chemical Instrumentation", "Frontiers in Chemical Biology" and "Selected Topics in Chemistry & Molecular Sciences" are designed for enhancing students' understanding on graduate-level chemistry and its applications in different areas including research and development, analytical chemistry, biological, medical and materials applications.

The courses "Advanced Seminar Series" and "Postgraduate Symposium" enable students to develop skills in communication and presentation of scientific results in a professional manner as well as evaluate and apply research methodologies in their chosen specialized areas.

The MSc Dissertation is an individual project that requires students to work on research projects for a period of two semesters (four semesters for students taking part-time mode of study).
Each student is required to produce a Project Report on his/her research findings and take part in oral defense of his/her research work.

To facilitate the formulation of the dissertation research project in the first few weeks after joining the programme, research interest and project titles offered by potential supervisors and the email contacts of potential supervisors will be sent to the applicants that have accepted the admission offer in March/April so that they can contact with potential supervisors to formulate or initiate the research projects before the start of the programme.

To ensure students to satisfactorily fulfill their dissertation requirements, they will be required to deliver progress presentation of their research projects for evaluation by their supervisors and assessors after six weeks (for full-time students) or ten weeks (for part-time students) of the commencement of their dissertations.
Therefore, any necessary change or modification to their project objectives can be made at the early stage. Students will obtain excellent support from their supervisors and the corresponding research groups in case they encounter difficulties in their research projects.

If the students are unable to complete the dissertation within the nominal period of the course, students can apply for an extension of the deadline for dissertation report submission. However, such application would require approval of the supervisor and the course leader.

Bonus Features

Broad-spectrum R&D training in Chemistry and Molecular Sciences;

Heavy research component, which aims to enable students to produce potentially publishable research results;